A casualty is someone injured, killed, captured, or missing in a military engagement. The Civil War had plenty of all these. The casualty totals in the Civil War can only be treated as estimates. The exact numbers cannot be exactly known.

Dead at Spotsylvania, 1864.

Due to exhaustive research by many credible and earnest Civil War scholars, the casualty numbers presented here can be considered to be as accurate as possible. I have relied on trustworthy sources for the numbers and statistics I share in this post. The exact number of Civil War casualties will forever be a topic for debate.

One fact we can be certain of regarding Civil War casualty counts, the carnage of the Civil War was immense. War and disease provided the Grim Reaper with all he desired.

Let us not neglect to know that the cold numbers and statistics shown in this post are facts that represent real people. People who fought in a vicious war, who bled red blood whether they were clothed in blue or gray. People who lost limbs or were severely disfigured, people who died miserable, slow deaths of disease or injury, people who perished instantaneously in groups during battle, or slowly had life ebb away as they sprawled alone and incapacitated in the aftermath of a major battle or minor skirmish. Many died agonizing and feverish deaths of disease. These numbers are human beings.

Dead Yankee at Petersburg, 1864.

How Many Died in the Civil War? The quick and simple answer is that no one knows for sure exactly how many died in the Civil War, neither for the North or the South. An estimate of the deaths in the Civil War is 623,026. This means that of men of service age, one out of eleven men died during the Civil War years between 1861 and 1865.

Below is a chart showing how the Civil War compares in total deaths to other wars:

A severe facial wound suffered in the Civil War.

How Many Casualties in the Civil War? For both sides in the Civil War, 471,427 can be considered as a minimum number of those wounded. When added to the estimate of 623,026 deaths, the total estimate of Civil War casualties is 1,094,453.

Greatest Union Battle Losses

+ Not including South Mountain and Crampton’s Gap.
++ Includes Chantilly, Rappahannock, Bristoe Station, and Bull Run Bridge.
Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

The Union Armies lost 110,070 killed or mortally wounded, and 275,175 wounded; for a total of 385,245. This does not include the missing in action. Of the 110,070 deaths from battle, 67,058 were killed on the field and the remaining 43,012 died of wounds.
This table shows how this loss was divided among the different arms of the service:

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

The losses in the three main categories of Union troops were:

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

DIED BY DISEASE. NOT INCLUDING DEATHS IN PRISONS.

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

Deaths in the Union Army, from all causes, as officially classified.
DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES:

NOTE: The deaths from accidents were caused, principally, by the careless use of fire-arms, explosions of ammunition, and railway accidents; in the cavalry service, a large number of accidental deaths resulted from poor horsemanship.

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

DEATHS IN CONFEDERATE ARMIES
James B. Fry, United States Provost Marshal-General, provides a report in 1865-1866 that includes a tabulation of Confederate losses. Fry’s report is compiled from the muster-rolls which are on file in the Bureau of Confederate Archives. This report is incomplete, as Confederate records can be, and often are, spotty. For example, in these records the Alabama rolls are mostly missing. Nonetheless, the numbers are worth noting. From General Fry’s report, the following table was created by William E. Fox in his Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865:

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

Confederate Deaths of Disease:

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

During the Civil War, soldiers would speak about "Seeing the elephant." The "elephant" was battle, combat, being under enemy fire.

Both the Confederacy and the Union had armies made up mostly of volunteers, with much fewer soldiers actually belonging to the Regular Army. Whether volunteer or Regular Army, the vast majority of these young men had never faced enemy fire. Many were away from home for the first time in their young lives. They had lived quietly and peacefully in small towns, farms, or cities. Now, they were learning to kill, and facing the great possibility of being killed. As these men trained and marched, preparing for battle, the thought of "Seeing the elephant" for the first time weighed on their minds.

Barnes&Noble: National Geographic Atlas of the Civil War

”It’s just like shooting squirrels, only these squirrels have guns.”
– A Federal veteran instructing new recruits in a musket drill.

Barnes&Noble: Co Aytch Maury Grays First Tennessee Regiment Or A Side Show Of The Big Show by Sam R. Watkins

“Bang, bang, bang, a rattle, de bang, bang, bang, a boom, de bang…whirr-siz-siz-siz–a ripping, roaring, boom, bang!” – Confederate Sam R. Watkins describing a "fire fight." Sam Watkins was twenty-one years old and from Columbia, Tennessee when he joined up to fight in the Civil War. He kept a journal and recorded his experiences and thoughts during the war. His words give us great insight into the Civil War.   “It was eyes right, guide center! Close-up, guide right, halt, forward, right oblique, left oblique, halt, forward, guide center, eyes right, dress up promptly in the rear, steady, double quick, charge bayonets, fire at will, is about all that a private soldier knows of a battle.” – Confederate Sam R. Watkins.

I was a ploughboy in the field,
A gawky, lazy, dodger,
When came the conscript officer
And took me for a sodger.
He put a musket in my hand,
And showed me how to fire it;
I marched and counter-marched all day;
Lord, how I did admire it!
– This tune is "The Valiant Conscript" and it is sung to the music of "Yankee Doodle."

“Our men are not sufficiently impressed with a sense of honor that it is better to die by fire than to run.”
– General William Hardee of the Confederacy.

“War is at best barbarism…Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot, nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.”
– William Tecumseh Sherman. These words are from his June 19, 1879 address to the Michigan Military Academy.

“We made a bargain with them that we would not fire on them if they would not fire on us, and they were as good as their word. It seems too bad that we have to fight men that we like.”
– Words of a Union soldier.

Perhaps some of you reading the LearnCivilWarHistory.com blog are veterans or soldiers who know full well what it is like to under fire. However, for most us, we can only wonder and imagine what it is like to be "Seeing the elephant," just as the young men of the Civil War wondered and imagined so many years ago.

Below are the experiences of being under Civil War fire as described by Captain Frank Holsinger. Try to imagine yourself in Captain Frank Holsinger’s shoes (or rather, brogans) as you read this stirring account of what it was like to be "Seeing the elephant” in the Civil War:

Excerpts from: How Does One Feel Under Fire?
by Captain Frank Holsinger, 19th United States Colored Infantry.

"My sensations at Antietam were a contradiction. When we were in line "closed en masse" passing to the front through the wood at "half distance," the boom of cannon and the hurtling of shell as it crashed through the trees or exploding found its lodgment in human flesh; the minies sizzling and savagely spotting the trees; the deathlike silence save the "steady men" of our officers. The shock to the nerves were indefinable–one stands, as it were, on the brink of eternity as he goes into action. One man alone steps from the ranks and cowers behind a large tree, his nerves gone; he could go no longer. General Meade sees him, and, calling a sergeant, says, "Get that man in ranks." The sergeant responds, the man refuses; General Meade rushes up with, "I’ll move him!" Whipping out his saber, he deals the man a blow, he falls–who he was, I do not know. The general has no time to tarry or make inquiries. A lesson to those witnessing the scene. The whole transaction was like that of a panorama. I felt at the time the action was cruel and needless on the part of the general. I changed my mind when I became an officer, when with the sword and pistol drawn to enforce discipline by keeping my men in place when going into conflict.

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"When the nerves are thus unstrung, I have known relief by a silly remark. Thus at Antietam, when in line of battle in front of the wood and exposed to a galling fire from the cornfield, standing waiting expectant with “What next?” the minies zipping by occasionally, one making the awful thud as it struck some unfortunate. As we thus stood listlessly, breathing a silent prayer, our hearts having ceased to pulsate or our minds on home and loved ones, expecting soon to be mangled or perhaps killed, some one makes an idiotic remark; thus at this time it is Mangle, in a high nasal twang, with “D—–d sharp skirmishing in front.” There is a laugh, it is infectious, and we are once more called back to life.

"The battle when it goes your way is a different proposition. Thus having reached the east wood, each man sought a tree from behind which he not only sought protection, but dealt death to our antagonists. They halt, also seeking protection behind trees. They soon begin to retire, falling back into the corn-field. We now rush forward. We cheer; we are in ecstasies. While shell and canister are still resonant and minies sizing spitefully, yet I think this one of the supreme moments of my existence … The worst condition to endure is when you fall wounded upon the field. Now you are helpless. No longer are you filled with the enthusiasm of battle. You are helpless—the bullets still fly over and about you—you no longer are able to shift your position or seek shelter. Every bullet as it strikes near you is a new terror. Perchance you are enabled to take out your handkerchief, which you raise in supplication to the enemy to not fire in your direction and to your friends of your helplessness. This is a trying moment. How slowly time flies! Oh, the agony to the poor wounded man, who alone can ever know its horrors! Thus at Bermuda Hundreds, November 28th, being in charge of the picket-line we were attacked, which we repulsed and rejoiced, yet the firing is maintained. I am struck in the left forearm, though not disabled; soon I am struck in the right shoulder by an explosive bullet, which is imbedded in my shoulder strap. We still maintain a spiteful fire. About 12 M. I am struck again in my right forearm, which is broken and the main artery cut; soon we improvise a tourniquet by using a canteen-strap and with a bayonet the same is twisted until blood ceases to flow. To retire is impossible, and for nine weary hours or until late in the night, I remain on the line. I am alone with my thoughts; I think of home, of the seriousness of my condition; I see myself a cripple for life—perchance I may not recover; and all the time shells are shrieking and minie bullets whistling over and about me. The tongue becomes parched, there is no water to quench it; you cry “Water! Water!” and pray for night; that you can be carried off the field and to the hospital , and there the surgeons’ care—maimed, crippled for life, perchance to die. These are your reflections. Who can portray the horrors coming to the wounded?"

At the completion of Captain Frank Holsinger’s military service, he was given a brevet rank of major. Holsinger settled in Kansas.

Barnes&Noble: Civil War Acoustic Shadows

The distance the sound is heard may be great, even hundreds of miles, yet nearby (sometimes mere miles away), the sounds are not heard. Battles where the Acoustic Shadow phenomenon occurred in the Civil War are Gettysburg, Seven Pines, Iuka, Fort Donelson, Five Forks, Perryville, and Chancellorsville. Acoustic Shadow could have a profound effect on a battle. During the Civil War, it was common for armies to be spread out over large distances and timely communication between the split parts of an army was crucial to battlefield success. Army commanders must make decisions based on current knowledge of the situation before them. The sound of a battle would be a form of communication, signalling to a Civil War commander and his staff where a battle is taking place, and what troops (including enemy) may be involved. If Acoustic Shadow hides battle action from being heard by a commander, then communication has been lost and dire consequences may follow as the commander does not respond as needed to the battlefield situation.

Examples of Acoustic Shadow During Civil War Battles:

• Battle of Gaines’s Mill – More than 91,000 men were engaged in battle at Gaines’s Mill, Virginia on June 27, 1862. Confederate commanders and troops were less than two miles from the battlefield and could plainly see the smoke and flashes from the guns and artillery, but not a sound could be heard of the battle for two hours. Strangely, the battle sounds from the Battle of Gaines’s Mill were easily heard in Staunton, Virginia over one hundred miles away.

Five Forks – Fives Forks was fought from March 30 to April 1, 1865 and was part of the Appomattox Campaign. Confederate Generals George Pickett and Fitzhugh Lee were enjoying a shad bake with other generals north of Hatcher’s Run when the battle of Five Forks began a short distance away. Because of Acoustic Shadow, Pickett and Fitzhugh Lee were unaware a fight was under way. Pickett finally responded, but arrived late for the battle. Pickett and Fitzhugh Lee have been criticized by Civil War historians (please see Lee’s Lieutenants, III, 665-670) for not acting on "the dread immediacy of the crisis" (ibid., 665) at Five Forks.

Barnes&Noble: Cannon Blasts: Civil War Artillery in the Eastern Armies

• The Battle of Gettysburg – The battle sounds from Gettysburg fought on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863 could be heard over one hundred miles away in Pittsburgh, but were not heard only ten miles from the battlefield.

Barnes&Noble: The Encyclopedia of Civil War Usage

Overtime, it is natural for language to change and develop as new words are added to the dictionary. For example, your BlogMaster can sometimes be accused of being a mouse potato. The term "mouse potato" is a recent addition to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It means I spend too much time at the computer, just as a couch potato spends too much time sitting on the couch watching television. Can you imagine asking someone from the Civil War what the words Internet and BlogMaster mean! Words also fall from use and become forgotten. Many of the words used during the Civil War are not often heard, read, or understood today.

Here’s a brief story I’ve written about a Billy Yank, only for the purpose of using some Civil War jargon. See if you can understand what my imaginary Jonathan (a Yankee) soldier is talking about. I’ll translate it further below:

The Latin farmers and I came upon somebody’s darlin, he was from the so-called seceded states and probably a Tar Heel. He had been a snake in the grass, but was now a true lead mine after meeting up with some of us Lincoln hirelings. He was a tough looking butternut, there certainly would have been no social intercourse with him and he looked liked he’d been on partial rations for too long. He was messed up good, a victim of solid shot from a smoothbore, he wasn’t lucky enough to experience a spent ball. Now he would not have to worry about contracting soldier’s disease, or becoming a pickled sardine. Maybe he served under Square Box or Lee’s Old War Horse, maybe too, Little Powell. They all had been through here. We had whipped them good and when the Long-Legged Donkey hears about it he will be glad, yes sir, Long Shanks will be joyful. By the looks of him, he could too have been part of Old Tom Fool’s Lousy 33d, but Old Jack has been sacred dust since Chancellorsville.

Anyway, we were hungry so we sot down for some Lincoln pie, old bull, and coffee, but had no desire to get some lobscouse going. Despite the miasma of this area, we’ll set up a merrimack and break out some oh-be-joyful and get corned. If we get time later on, maybe we’ll have ourselves a louse race. Better get a fire going and try to dry out our mudscows. We should be safe from Old Granny and Old Jubilee tonight. We are proud one-hundred-day-men and serving under Old Four Eyes, as far as we’re concerned there is no one better than Old Snapping Turtle because he is the biggest toad in the puddle. Maybe tomorrow we’ll open the ball. We intend to exfluncticate the graybacks. I snore, I’ll spend all night slapping gallnippers!

I only hope I won’t have to deal with Virginia quickstep tomorrow, like I did today. It sure made things all-overish for me and I almost had a conniption fit dealing with it. Sakes alive, it’s not your funeral. I’ve been like a book here, but I’ll shut pan now.

Translation:

The well-educated German immigrants fighting in the Union Army and I came upon an unidentified corpse, he was a Confederate and probably from North Carolina. He had been trying to camouflage himself, but now was dead with several wounds after meeting up with some of us Union soldiers. He was a tough looking Southern soldier, there certainly would have been no pleasant conversation with him and he looked liked he’d been on less than the daily allowance of food for too long. He was messed up good, a victim of chunks of cast iron from a cannon or other firearm without rifling, he wasn’t lucky enough to experience a projectile or bullet that did not have enough velocity to cause any damage. Now he would not have to worry about contracting a chronic ailment suffered by veterans such as morphine or opium addiction, or becoming a prisoner of war who had been imprisoned for many months. Maybe he served under General Thomas Jonathan ’’Stonewall’’ Jackson or General James Longstreet, maybe too, General Ambrose Powell Hill. They all had been through here. We had beat them good and when President Abraham Lincoln hears about it he will be glad, yes sir, Lincoln will be joyful. By the looks of him, he could too have been part of Stonewall Jackson’s 33d Virginia regiment, part of the Army of Northern Virginia, but Stonewall Jackson has been a corpse since Chancellorsville.

Anyway, we were hungry so we sat down for some hardtack, salted horse meat, and coffee, but had no desire to get some stew of hardtack, vegetables, and salted meat going. Despite the unpleasant air of this area, we’ll set up a lean-to for one night’s use and break out some hard liquor and get drunk. If we get time later on, maybe we’ll have ourselves a contest where body lice are placed on the center of a saucer or plate, and wagers are taken as to which louse will scurry and fall of the edge of the plate or saucer first. Better get a fire going and try to dry out our shoes [shoes were also often called brogans]. We should be safe from Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Jubal Early tonight. We are proud to be Pennsylvanians who signed up for one hundred days’ service after Gettysburg and serving under General George G. Meade, as far as we’re concerned there is no one better than Meade because he’s the most important person in our group. Maybe tomorrow we’ll start a battle. We intend to utterly destroy the Confederates. I swear, I’ll spend all night slapping large mosquitos! I only hope I won’t have to deal with diarrhea tomorrow, like I did today. It sure made things uncomfortable for me and I almost had a fit of hysteria dealing with it. Good heavens, it’s none of your concern. I’ve been eloquent here, but I’ll shut up now.

Webb Garrison’s Civil War Dictionary

The Death of General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson

At Chancellorsville during the night of May 2, Stonewall Jackson is struck three times by friendly fire. A bullet each to Jackson’s right hand and left wrist, and a third to his left arm between the shoulder and elbow. The third bullet fractured Jackson’s humerus bone and injured his brachial artery, this wound was very serious and it bled profusely. Very early in the morning of May 3, doctors amputated Jackson’s left arm two inches below the shoulder.

As the days pass, Jackson is healing and recovering well from the amputation and other wounds. The prognosis for Stonewall’s recovery looked good.

Early in the morning on May 7, Jackson awoke and complained of a sharp pain in his right side. Doctors examined him and determined he had pneumonia. Since the amputation of his left arm Jackson had been alert and sharp of mind, but now he became feverish, and began to lapse in and out of consciousness.

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Sometimes he would speak coherently with those around him, and at other times he was in a delirium…giving orders to subordinates as if he was still on a battlefield.

Barnes&Noble: Stonewall Jacksons Book of Maxims

Jackson’s wife Anna was summoned to his bedside. Anna arrived on May 7, bringing the Jackson’s five-month-old baby, Julia. Stonewall had seen baby Julia only once before. In Stonewall’s good and lucid moments, he was able to visit with Anna and baby Julia. Jackson’s condition continued to decline. By the morning of Sunday, May 10, Jackson’s doctors knew the general’s time was short.

Stonewall Jackson was a devout Presbyterian; his faith in God was the cornerstone of his life. In his personal habits, Jackson neither drank or smoked. Anna was told her husband would not live through the day and she asked him, “Do you not feel willing to acquiesce in God’s allotment, if He will you go today?” and Jackson replied, “I prefer it.” Anna continued, “Before this day closes, you will be with the Blessed Savior in his glory.” Jackson replied to her, “I will be an infinite gainer to be translated.”

As this Sunday in early May continued, Jackson’s condition worsened more and more. He was becoming weak and exhausted, and his breathing was difficult. Anna asked her husband if he realized that before sunset he would be with his savior. Even at this stage, Jackson thought otherwise and told her, “Oh no, you are frightened my child, death is not so near. I may yet get well.” Anna told her husband the doctors said there was no hope.

Jackson called for his doctor, saying to him, “Doctor, Anna informs me that you have told her that I am to die today.” The doctor answered, “That is so.” Jackson replied, “Very good, very good, it is all right.” Later, when his strength was slipping further away, Jackson spoke, “It is the Lord’s day; my wish is fulfilled. I have always desired to die on Sunday.”

Jackson’s doctor noticed Jackson was conscious at 1:30 in the afternoon. The doctor told Jackson he had only but a couple of hours left to live. Brandy and water were offered, but Jackson declined saying, “It will only delay my departure and do no good. I want to preserve my mind to the last.” Soon he was back in a delirium. Jackson first gave orders like he was on a battlefield, then he was at a mess table talking with his staff, then with his wife and daughter, and then he was at his prayers…all this while lying in bed with his mind fogged and confused by a feverish delirium.

Barnes&Noble: Whatever You Resolve To Be

That Sunday was a beautiful spring day at Guinea Station, Virginia, where a great Confederate general lay dying in a farmhouse. In the early afternoon, General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson (again in a delirium) spoke these words; "Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the front rapidly! Tell Major Hawks…"

After that Jackson paused, and then with a smile; “Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.” At 3:15 in the afternoon on May 10, 1863 Confederate General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson was dead.

Stonewall Jackson, General Robert E. Lee’s “right arm,” was now gone forever. The great Confederate victory at Chancellorsville, where Lee had gambled and won (it would be known as Lee’s “masterpiece"), had came with a great loss. Jackson could never be replaced. In battles yet to come, General Lee and the Confederacy would dearly miss Stonewall Jackson and his aggressive leadership.

The only home Stonewall Jackson ever owned is a brick house in Lexington, Virginia. Jackson owned this home before the Civil War as he taught at the nearby Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Today, the Stonewall Jackson House in Lexington is a Registered National Landmark and is open to visitors. A number of Jackson’s personal items are on display there. While in Lexington, you will find much about Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson at VMI’s museum. Also in Lexington is the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery. Jackson is buried there along with other Confederate veterans.

Stonewall Jackson, shot by friendly fire the night of May 2, has his mangled left arm amputated early in the morning of May 3 at a field hospital. General Robert E. Lee says of Jackson’s importance to him and the Army of Northern Virginia; "He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right. Any victory would be dear at such a cost."

The best artillery officer of the Confederacy, Colonel Edward Porter Alexander, reports to General James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart early the morning of May 3 that a high piece of ground called Hazel Grove would be the perfect point to stage an artillery attack. Stuart sends a brigade made up of Tennessee and Alabama regiments to Hazel Grove. At dawn, the Confederates attack, just in time to capture four cannon and one hundred men of a Union rear guard.

Because of its very advantageous position for artillery, Hazel Grove is the key to the battlefield. If "Fighting Joe" Hooker controls Hazel Grove, he could keep the two wings of the Army of Northern Virginia separated. Hooker, with his superior number of troops, could then destroy Lee’s parted army.

Despite the great advantage of holding Hazel Grove, Hooker decides to abandon the position. Hooker chooses instead to have his troops fall back from Hazel Grove to an elevated clearing called Fairview.

Barnes&Noble: Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command by Douglas Freeman, Abridged by Stephen W. Sears

Colonel Alexander quickly moves about 36 cannon into the open space of Hazel Grove and begins firing at Yankee artillery located about 1200 yards away at Fairview, and at the crossroads of Chancellorsville itself. The Confederate artillery is triumphant. It was recently reorganized into a battalion system, allowing it to have an ample amount of guns in large, mobile groups. This organization of the Confederate artillery made it much more efficient and effective. The advantageous high ground of Hazel Grove and the battalion system of artillery management led Douglas Southall Freeman (the Army of Northern Virginia’s leading historian) to comment; "At Hazel Grove the finest artillerists of the Army of Northern Virginia were having their greatest day." With the artillery support, the Confederate infantry stages a full attack on the Federal lines.

General "Fighting Joe" Hooker experiences personally some of the Confederate artillery. Hooker is at his Chancellorsville house headquarters leaning against a white porch column on the second-story veranda. A Confederate shell hits the porch column but does not explode. Hooker is knocked unconscious and suffers a concussion, but the dazed and groggy "Fighting Joe" continues in command.

Some of Hooker’s officers wish Hooker would start a counterattack in response to the Confederate offensive. These officers are disappointed when Hooker instead chooses to retreat one or two miles towards the north into a defensive line.

The two wings of Lee’s army reunite and Lee’s great gamble at Chancellorsville pays off. The Confederates push the Yankees back to the Chancellorsville crossroads intersection. General Lee rides his horse Traveller onto the battle scene, the sight of Lee with Traveller charges the enthusiasm of the Confederates and they cheer their general. Lee is in triumph and his men are celebrating, but a crisis soon comes.

Word comes from Fredericksburg that Lee’s rear guard is in trouble. General Jubal Early leads the rear guard and his 11,000 men are up against twice as many Union soldiers led by General John Sedgwick. On the morning of May 3, Confederate Colonel Thomas M. Griffen accepts (against regulations) a flag of truce. During the truce, the Federals see that they outnumber their enemy. The Federals advance upon the Confederates, moving over ground where so much loss and grief had occurred for them the previous December during the Battle of Fredericksburg. They cross the plain below Marye’s Heights, and move over the stone wall and Sunken Road, giving Sedgwick’s troops a path to the rear of General Lee’s position.

Sedgwick’s advance ends at Salem Church, about four miles west of Marye’s Heights. Five brigades of Alabama troops (all tough and veteran fighters) led by Marcellus Wilcox, use Salem Church for protection as they make a stand. Lee sends General Lafayette McLaws and his troops to Salem Church for reinforcement of Wilcox and his Alabamians. Later, Lee himself arrives. The fighting tapers off late in the day on May 3. On May 4, the Confederates push Sedgwick back to the Rappahannock River. The Union soldiers retreat across the Rappahannock on the night of May 4-5.

With Sedgwick now across the Rappahannock River, Lee returns to Chancellorsville on May 5 and begins planning a new offensive against Hooker’s men. Nevertheless, a new Confederate offensive proves unnecessary. On the morning of May 6, Lee learns from scouts that under the cover of night, the Yankees have retreated north of the Rappahannock River.

Barnes&Noble: Chancellorsville

President Lincoln has been monitoring the Chancellorsville battle from the telegraph office in the War Department. During the battle, Lincoln hears reports that are often contradictory or incomplete. On May 6 however, Lincoln learns the certain results of Chancellorsville. He is not pleased. A newspaperman wrote Lincoln’s face turned "ashen" upon hearing the bad news of Chancellorsville. The president exclaims, "My God! My God! What will the country say?" The country’s reaction to the Union defeat at Chancellorsville is not good. With the Union’s defeat at Fredericksburg, and now a loss at Chancellorsville, the country has been hearing too much bad news too often. Things are looking bad for the Union.

For General Robert E. Lee and the Confederacy, things are looking good. Lee has won a great battle at Chancellorsville, it his masterpiece.

Meanwhile, twenty-five miles southeast of Chancellorsville in a house at Guinea Station, General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson is healing from his wounds and amputation. The news from there is good too for General Lee and the South, as Stonewall seemed to be recovering…

The night of May 1, Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson are sitting on Union hardtack boxes by campfire. Lee and Jackson are working on their battle plans. Outnumbered more than two to one, Lee still wants to take the offensive against Hooker. Lee knows the Federals hold a good defensive position on the high ground around Chancellorsville and the situation is too risky for a direct attack. Moreover, the Rappahannock River protects the Federal left, so turning it is impossible. Lee needs a way to go on the offensive. General Jeb Stuart soon provides the way.

Stuart’s cavalry scouts have found that Hooker’s right flank has no natural or artificial obstacle to protect it, Hooker’s right flank is "in the air" and vulnerable. To move without detection around to the Federal right flank, Lee and Jackson need a route through the Wilderness. One of Stonewall Jackson’s staff officers finds a man who lives in the area, and this local knows of a road used to haul charcoal to an iron-smelting furnace. Jackson can move his troops to the Federal right flank by using the charcoal-hauling road and a few other roads.

At Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee gambles with his battle plans. Lee stays with only 15,000 men to face Hooker’s main force, while Jackson takes his corps of about 30,000 men through a way of roads and paths to the Federal right. Stuart’s cavalry will screen Jackson’s movement from the Federals and Lee will divert Hooker’s attention as Jackson’s men make their way. Meanwhile, General Jubal Early has his men at Fredericksburg. Splitting the Army of Northern Virginia into three separate groups is a big risk. If Hooker chooses to take the offensive, his superior number of troops can destroy any of Lee’s separated groups. Lee counts on "Fighting Joe" Hooker to do nothing while Stonewall Jackson makes his march to the Federal right flank.

Early the morning of May 2, Stonewall Jackson begins his march. As Lee remains behind with his relatively meager amount of troops, Jackson takes his 30,000 men on a twelve-mile march around Hooker’s army. Jackson has Stuart’s cavalry to screen his march, but Union infantry still detects the Rebel movements and troops under General Dan Sickles attack the tail of Jackson’s column. General "Fighting Joe" Hooker knows of Stonewall Jackson’s flanking movement, but Hooker thinks the Rebels are retreating instead of making offensive movements. Hooker does nothing to prepare for an attack on his right flank. By late in the afternoon of May 2, Stonewall has 30,000 men behind the unaware Federal troops.

Stonewall Jackson tells Major Eugene Blackford, "You can go forward then," and with their bone-chilling Rebel Yell battle cry, the Confederates advance out of the cover of the Wilderness. The 11th Corps, under command of General Oliver O. Howard, have the Federal right. Mostly made up of German-Americans, the 11th Corps is about 12,000 strong. The 11th Corps, known as the "Dutch Corps" (a mangling of the word "Deutsche" for "German"), has a poor reputation based on previous battle action. Today would not improve the "Dutch Corps" reputation. The Confederate attack took place near suppertime and most of Howard’s troops are preparing food or relaxing. The oncoming wall of attacking rebels surprises the Federals. By nightfall, Jackson’s men have backed the Federals up two miles. It was a moonlit night, and even after dark some fighting continues in the woods and thickets of the Wilderness. Night fighting was very rare in the Civil War, but this is an example of it. Finally, darkness ends the Confederate attack.

General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson and several other officers are looking for a way to renew the attack. They are out ahead of their lines in the darkness and confusion of the Wilderness, scouting for the best way to begin a new attack. As they are returning to their lines at a trot, they come upon a regiment from North Carolina. In the dark, the Tarheels hear the horses approaching and mistake their riders as Federals, the North Carolinians begin firing and Stonewall Jackson is shot. One bullet hits Jackson in his right hand, a second in his left wrist, and the third strikes him in his left arm between the shoulder and elbow. Stonewall’s frightened horse bolts and runs toward the Federal lines, bashing Jackson’s face into a low tree branch before Jackson regains control of the horse. The most damaging third bullet shatters bone and cuts an artery. Stonewall Jackson is severely injured. He is in great pain and moved to the rear on a stretcher, but not before urging his men to continue the fight and finish the victory. General Jeb Stuart assumes command of General Jackson’s 11th Corps.

Barnes&Noble: Smoothbore Volley That Doomed the Confederacy

Barnes&Noble: A Bullet for Stonewall

Night has now fallen and the fighting ends for this day. The morning of May 3 would renew the Battle of Chancellorsville.

Chancellorsville is "Lee’s Masterpiece" (Chancellorsville is a brick plantation house located in the area known as the Wilderness). At the Battle of Chancellorsville Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia is outnumbered by Union Major General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker’s Army of the Potomac by more than two to one, yet Robert E. Lee and his "right-arm" General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, defeat the Federals. Lee’s victory at Chancellorsville will provide him his path to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and another meeting with the Army of the Potomac in early July of 1863. Despite being Lee’s most canny and skillful victory, Chancellorsville will also bring a great loss to General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia.

General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker was a bombastic, egotistical, and conceited individual. He was a person who thought his ends always justified his means and he would often disobey orders, jump over levels of command, or just flat out lie in order get what he wanted. Hooker was a handsome six-footer and popular with the women. Among the men Hooker served with, he was not so popular. He was not well liked or trusted.

General Joseph Hooker’s nickname of "Fighting Joe" came about by accident. The New York newspaper Courier and Enquirer had received a report about some action Hooker was involved in during McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign. The heading of the report said "Fighting – Joe Hooker" and it was meant to indicate that the report should be used to add more information to an already existing article about Joe Hooker’s part in the battle. Due to an error at the newspaper, this new report was treated as a separate article and was given the heading of "FIGHTING JOE HOOKER" with the hyphen omitted. The newspaper readers loved the nickname and it stuck. At first, Hooker himself did not much care for the nickname, but as time progressed, he liked it more and more.

President Lincoln (with some reservations) gave Hooker command of the Army of the Potomac on January 25, replacing General Ambrose Burnside. Ambrose Burnside had been a weak leader. He failed at Fredericksburg and later brought about a blunder known as the "Mud March."

The goal for the North was "On to Richmond!" If the Army of the Potomac could take the Confederate capital of Richmond, then the Confederate cause would be broken and the war won. Burnside’s loss at Fredericksburg left General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia firmly dug in with a defensive position at Fredericksburg, blocking the Army of the Potomac’s path to Richmond. With Hooker as the new commanding general, the Army of the Potomac would launch a new offensive on Richmond.

Joe Hooker went to work getting the Army of the Potomac into shape. Hooker reorganized the army and made changes in commands. The Army of the Potomac at this time consisted of nearly 150,000 troops and was the largest mobilized field army in the world. This army had become dispirited after the Union loss at Fredericksburg the previous December, but with Hooker it regained its morale. President Lincoln gave General Joe Hooker the freedom to make his own plans for the offensive campaign that would take place with the arrival of spring and the drying of the muddy winter roads. Lincoln did require two things of Hooker; that he go on the offensive as soon as possible, and that he leave Washington guarded.

Hooker planned to have one wing of his army march 40 miles upstream of the Rappahannock River and then cross it and the Rapidan River at fords located west of Confederate defenses. These troops then would move east and attack the Confederate left flank. The rest of the Army of the Potomac would cross the Rappahannock at a point below Fredericksburg to harass the Confederates there. "Fighting Joe" Hooker thought his plans were good, (his plans in fact, were not bad), and he was confident. Before the campaign he said; "My plans are perfect and when I start to carry them out, may God have mercy on General Lee, for I will have none."

Barnes&Noble: Chancellorsville

Hooker began his troop movements on April 27. General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia had spent the winter entrenched at Fredericksburg. Lee’s troops numbered about 61,000 men and Hookers’ troops about 134,000 men. Lee had less than half the men Hooker had. By April 30, Hooker had 50,000 men at a brick mansion named Chancellorsville. Chancellorsville was located at a crossroads in the dense, thicket-like, scrubby, secondary growth known as the Wilderness of Spotsylvania, ten miles west of Fredericksburg.

General Lee and his "right hand" General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson had correctly sized up the situation. They realized that the Yankees at Chancellorsville, and not those who were opposite them and below Fredericksburg, were the main threat of Hooker’s offensive advance. The Confederates left a division to hold the Fredericksburg entrenchments, and the greater part of Lee’s army headed west toward Chancellorsville.

On the morning of May 1, Jackson’s troops met up with Hooker’s men a few miles east of Chancellorsville. Despite having a superior number of troops, Hooker fell back to a defensive position in the Wilderness terrain around Chancellorsville. The Union troops put up entrenchments around General Hooker’s Chancellorsville headquarters.

Barnes&Noble: Lee’s Terrible Swift Sword

Major General Darius N. Couch was the Army of the Potomac’s senior corps commander and he told General Hooker there was disappointment amongst the army leaders that Hooker had chosen a defensive posture at Chancellorsville. Couch himself, had favored an offensive strategy. "Fighting Joe" Hooker told General Couch "It is all right, Couch, I have got Lee just where I want him; he must fight me on my own ground." Couch was in disbelief with what Hooker had said to him; "To hear from his own lip that the advantages gained by the successful marches of his lieutenants were to culminate in fighting a defensive battle in tha t nest of thickets was too much, and I retired from his presence with the belief that my commanding general was a whipped man."

Hooker distributed to his corps commanders a circular that included these words, "The major general commanding trusts that a suspension in the attack to-day will embolden the enemy to attack him."

Lee and Jackson would meet the night of May 1 to decide upon a plan. What these two Confederate generals conceived during their night meeting was one of the most remarkable military gambles ever devised.

On the coming day of May 2, "Fighting Joe" Hooker was going to see emboldened enemy attacking him.